I have a young Russian tortoise about a year old. He has a large enclosure with lots of stuff, rocks, plants etc. The thing is he never seems to go explore the other side of the enclosure that much. Mainly just sticks around the heated side. The temperatures are correct. Basking area is around 32 degrees c and cooler area tapers down to around 21-22 at its coldest. Is that normal at a young age? Or could it be something else. He’s always hungry and “runs” over when he sees me putting in dandelions flowers. I do find some signs of him be over at the other side of the enclosure like poop or a plant damaged. But he never seems to leave the area around heat light whenever I see him.
Russian tortoise activity
- Thread starter Romanov
- Start date
I do have a second heater in the cooler side of the enclosure. A 60watt ceramic bulb. I could try turning that on for a few days and checking does that improve his movements into the cooler side.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
If he’s under the backing bulb excessively, it does indicate that ambient temperatures might need tweaking, I’d try and aim for 23c on the cooler end during the day, do you have any digital monitors? I can see analog gauges in the photos and sometimes those readings can be a bit off, it’s worth getting some digital ones if you don’t already. Hopefully the ceramic will help if that’s the case.
Nice looking enclosure by the way!
Hi! Try adjusting basking area temperature to reach 35-37C (place a thermometer under the lamp for 1-2 hours to get the readings). He might be staying on the hot side because can't warm up enough.
Tortoise roam and need both hot and cold. I would not be concerned about the non usage. Mine uses all sides but retreats to a fav spot to sleep. I put the fresh leaves daily on an earthenware dish large enough for speedy to sit on and eat, located on the cold side. This avoid cooking the leaves and encourages full use.
1. Basking area directly under the bulb needs to be around 36-37C. 32 is too cool.
2. I see your basking lamp, CHE and UV tube. I don't see any ambient lighting, and the "cool" end is darker than the warm side. Add some LED lighting in the 5000-6500K color range. It will list this info on the package. I do see the bright window near the enclosure in the picture, but this is clearly not enough light in your tortoise's opinion.
3. This species comes from a warm part of the world in the summer months. 21-22 is fine for over night, but too cool for ambient day time temps. Your tortoise's behavior and preferences demonstrate this. Warm up the ambient a bit and see what happens.
I’ve upped the temperatures in the cooler side so now’s it’s around 25-26 degrees thanks to CHE. Still no change really. He just mainly hangs out around hot side. Are you sure about the basking temperatures being that high? Because when I’ve had it higher I notice he doesn’t bask directly under it. Is the led lighting necessary? The uvb strip bulb is in the middle of the enclosure, that fairly lights up the whole thing
Your UV tube should only be on for a few hours mid day. Your LED lighting should be on all day and it should be so bright that you can't even tell if the UV tube is on without bending down and looking up at the fixture and bulb. UV tubes should not be relied upon to light up the enclosure. Other bulbs should be lighting up the enclosure and the UV tube just comes on mid day as an additional light. This set simulates what happens outside during the day. It is brightest mid day, and UV is strongest mid day. There is very little UV outside in the morning and evening, even though it is bright and sunny.
Yes. I am 100% sure about the basking temps.
Give this a few days or a couple of weeks for the tortoise to adjust.
Any updates? Tom’s advice is solid. Temps were way too low. How often are you misting the enclosure?
Ya everything’s fine now. He’s going over and exploring the other side of the enclosure much more. Thanks to everyone for the advice, everyone here is extremely helpful and highly knowledgeable. I usually mist it twice a day, morning and evening. I also give him a warm bath every morning for about 20mins
RandyTortoise
Well-Known Member
Very cool!
Great to hear!! Always great advice from this group of folks.
Similar threads
